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"Here There Be Vampires" A Promise City, Arizona Story Hour
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<blockquote data-quote="orchid blossom" data-source="post: 2819621" data-attributes="member: 12815"><p>Chester's jaw drops at the hideous sight. Shaking his head, he regains his composure. "Sheriff! Is there a back door, like through the kitchen. Get everyone out that way." He fishes the holy symbol of Athena that Minerva gave him out from under his shirt and brandishes it toward Edwards.</p><p></p><p>Edwards recoils at the presentation of the symbol at first, then swipes at it violently. He manages to knock the symbol out of Chester's hand onto the floor.</p><p></p><p>Chester winces at the power of the blow. He shakes his hand as he draws his Remington with the other. "Mr. York. Get out of here! Go get the sheriff."</p><p></p><p>York hesitates to move as Edwards is keeping him hemmed in behind the counter. "Sheriff Weeks is already bringing the guests out the back door. Can you kill it? Just kill it!"</p><p></p><p>Kate swallowed against the bile that rose in her throat. "He hasn't harmed anyone yet, Chester. Is this... Did Greely make him into a monster?</p><p></p><p>I don't want to leave you alone, but we might need the others. Will you be alright if I run for Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs?"</p><p></p><p>Hearing no objection from Chester, Kate turned and ran next door to the saloon where Thom was standing in the door.</p><p></p><p>"Thom, I must speak with Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs this instant!" she said, breathless. "Please let me pass."</p><p></p><p>Edwards recoils at the presentation of the symbol at first, then swipes at it violently. He manages to knock the symbol out of Chester's hand onto the floor.</p><p></p><p>Thom shakes his head. "Sorry, I can't let anybody in. They said nobody can come in, let them know if anybody shows up. So you can't come in, I think?"</p><p></p><p>"Then take them a message, can you do that? But it must be done right now. Tell them Katherine says Edwards is at the hotel, not living and not dead. They must come there now. Go, tell them now! I will not come in."</p><p></p><p>Thom listens to what Kate is saying, but he appears to be confused. He tries to repeat what Kate says, but mixes up the words and forgets the other half. "They said I could just let them know if someone was coming. If you promise you will stay here I will go tell them you are here."</p><p></p><p>Thom bounds upstairs yelling for Jake and Ruby. "Someone is here, you said to let you know if someone was here!"</p><p></p><p>"Who is here Thom?" Jake stands and looks out the door of the room with a hand on his Colt.</p><p></p><p>"The other lady who was here when you untied me. I think her name is Kate? She was here with Mr. Edwards the other night. I think she is your friend, but Pretty Constance said not to let anybody in!" Thom appears very flustered and overwhelmed.</p><p></p><p>Jake's hand relaxes and falls from his revolver. "It is alright Thom, you did good." He pats Thom on the arm. "I will go see what she wants."</p><p></p><p>Jake leaves Ruby to the safe contents and walks down the stairs to speak with Katherine.</p><p></p><p>Kate sighed with relief when Jake came down the stairs. "We found Edwards!" she said as soon as he was close enough to hear. "Greely turned him. He's hanging from the ceiling by the front door of the hotel. Chester and the local priest are there now, we need help."</p><p></p><p>"Hermes!" Jake exclaims. He whirls around and grabs his bag off the bar top. "Chet is against a vampire with only that old priest to help him?" Jake does not wait for an answer and he sprints for the door, "Ruby!" Jake screams as he runs out the door, "Chester needs help!" and he is gone.</p><p></p><p>Once outside he quickly loads his sawed-off shotgun with two normal rounds and looks over the situation at the hotel. Jake also looks to see if any of the morning sun could shine through the first floor windows or doors.</p><p></p><p>The front door of the hotel does face the west, so at the moment the sun is not shining directly through the door, but there is sunlight illuminating the outdoors, so it is possible some could come in, even through the doors and windows facing away from it.</p><p></p><p>Also, the sheriff is doing his best at controlling the other guests and staff and getting them out the back door. There are a few screaming townsfolk exiting the back of the hotel as Jake arrives.</p><p></p><p>Kate ran after Jake, but stopped between the hotel and the saloon watching for Ruby. Her spells were out; it was unlikely she could be of much use fighting Edwards.</p><p></p><p>Ruby hears Jake scream and quickly starts running. As she does she stuffs the money and the papers down the front of her bodice.</p><p></p><p>First she sees Thom. "Which way did Jake go Thom?" She waits for him to point and starts running out the door in that direction.</p><p></p><p>"Stay here, please, we don't want you getting hurt!" she calls back to the big man.</p><p></p><p>With that Ruby runs in the direction of the hotel to find Jake.</p><p></p><p>Kate waved to Ruby as she came flying out the door. "It's Edwards, inside the hotel. Greely turned him and I'm out of resources. Just inside the front door."</p><p></p><p>Ruby waves but continues to run past Kate, pulling out her gun and the stake as she does. She runs into the front door and looks for Jake and Chester.</p><p></p><p>Kate stayed in the sunlight just outside the front door, where she could see Edwards and her friends and jump in if she was needed.</p><p></p><p>Chester sees Ruby enter. "Ruby, over here. Edwards is one of them now. He's got the priest trapped." Chester draws his second Remington. He says to the vampire, "Leave him be, Mr. Edwards. You made it your life's work fighting these monsters. Don't let them beat you."</p><p></p><p>The beast that now resides in what was once Mr. Edwards body looks at Chester as he gives his little speech then flings himself down from the wall and swats at Chester. Fortunately for the former soldier the creature mistimes it's jump and the slam never connects. The monster is now on all fours on the floor in front of Chester growling ferally. Victor Bishop takes the chance to bolt out from behind the desk and heads to where the Sheriff Weeks is leading the others out of the hotel to safety.</p><p></p><p>As Chester tries to talk to Edwards, Jake shifts to the right of him slowly moving forward. He is almost as surprised as Deputy Martin when the creature leaps at him just as Ruby arrives in the doorway. "Sorry Edwards," Jake says as he pulls his Colt while taking one last step to the right, "I do not know any other way. Now Chet!" Jake fans his gun at the former priest.</p><p></p><p>"Sorry about this. May your soul be at rest." Chester levels both guns at Edwards and fires.</p><p></p><p>Ruby makes sure she is out of the way of the gunfire but keeps the stake in her hand raised and ready. If for some crazy reason all the bullets don't kill him Ruby stands prepared to stake the vampire through the heart.</p><p></p><p>Kate ducked out of the line of fire, even as she had been getting her own pistol out and waited for the sound to stop.</p><p></p><p>After the barrage of fire the creature that was once Nolan Edwards now lay motionless on the floor. The body fell near the doorway and where the light filtered through the body smoked and bubbled slightly. There was no more life, even in death for Nolan Edwards, former vampire hunter.</p><p></p><p>The gunfire stopped and Kate peeked around the doorframe. She immediately turned away and emptied her stomach. A moment later tears streamed from her eyes.</p><p></p><p>Ruby releases the breath she didn't know she was holding as she leans herself up against the wall. She drops the stake to the floor. "What time is the stage?"</p><p></p><p>Chester kneels before the body and places coins on Edwards' eyes. He whispers, "Hope Charon gives you a smooth ride, Mr. Edwards." He looks at York. "This man deserves a decent burial for all that he's done."</p><p></p><p>York nods. "It'll get done, Deputy. Does he have family?"</p><p></p><p>"Not that I know of. He just had his work." He asks Ruby, "What about Whitaker. Is he mixed up in this?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't know. You went to investigate him last night, right? What did you find out?"</p><p></p><p>"We followed him and Romo out in the country. They met some Mexicans who gave them a wagon. Romo took the wagon northwest and Whitaker came back to town. Luna knows where Romo went."</p><p></p><p>"Did you find out what was in the wagon? And how can Luna know where the wagon went? Is she that smart she can tell Minerva?" Ruby pauses. "Whittaker did sound suspicious, something about a disease that he couldn't go in the sunlight. Otherwise I don't know. Guess you'll have to ask Minerva, Deputy," she smiles.</p><p></p><p>"I guess Luna can talk to Minerva some how. I can't explain it. Anyway, Nanuet snuck up to the wagon and found weapons and ammunition. So they're probably gun-runners. That reminds me, I need to tell the sheriff about that. I forgot in all the excitement." If Whitaker's not one of them, then we should go home."</p><p></p><p>"We should leave today," Kate said from where she was sitting by the door. "Brother York gave us the name of someone in Albuquerque who can help Nanuet. But time is a factor."</p><p></p><p>"Nanuet would not want to leave without knowing for sure if Whittaker was one of them or not. But it seems unlikely that a vampire would need to run guns," Ruby comments thoughtfully.</p><p></p><p>Kate said, "I only saw Whittaker once, but it seems to me if he and Greely had both been these monsters, they'd have been at each other's throats. They both seem to be men who liked to be in charge."</p><p></p><p>"We don't know if they could have been working together, one under the influence of the other. I don't know how to figure that out though short of busting into his home and throwing holy water on him," Ruby says.</p><p></p><p>Kate nodded. "Well, someone has to tell him we'll be vacating his house. A wet handshake would answer the question."</p><p></p><p>"I guess either me or Jake should do that. But he doesn't take care of business himself, he leaves it to his partner. But perhaps his partner hasn't returned yet from whatever scam they have going on." She glances over to Jake, who is pushing the now dead Edwards with the toe of his boot, no doubt to triple check he was really dead dead and not coming back. I just want to get out of here."</p><p></p><p>Ruby calls out, "What do you think Jake, do we have to visit Whittaker before we leave this place?"</p><p></p><p>Jake looks up when Ruby calls, apparently focused on Edwards not moving body. "I think you should step outside for a minute." He bends over and picks up the stake Ruby dropped, walks to his bag and removes the hammer he appropriated from Greely's store room and then stands between the door and the gruesome body on the floor. All Ruby can see before she turns away is the back of Jake's duster and his arm raising the hammer. There is a loud whack followed by the sound of a hammer being dropped on the floor.</p><p></p><p>When Jake joins Ruby outside he has his bag and is adjusting his coat. "I think this investigation is still going on, at least for another couple of hours. I am damn tired of this too, so enough pretense." Jake is scratching his chin apparently lost in thought. A little grin comes to his face but he quickly suppresses it, but not before Ruby sees it.</p><p></p><p>"Chet, we are still lawmen here, we do not need any excuse to question Whittaker to keep this town safe. We have a few things to do first. Maybe you could help the Sheriff calm folks down. I want to check Edwards room to make sure Greely did not leave anything else behind that is a problem. Then I want to examine those papers Ruby found. After that we go see Whittaker and he pours some holy water in his hand to prove he is not a monster, for that matter we can use a mirror to check too. If he refuses, then we drag him out in the street." He turns to Katherine, "Perhaps you can convince the Sheriff to get some men during daylight and go out to the graves of anyone who died recently and dig them up and make sure they are really dead."</p><p></p><p>Jake grabs Ruby's arm, "Come on, let us check Edward's room." He gets the key from Bishop and they head up stairs.</p><p></p><p>As Jake drags her up the stairs Ruby whines, "I thought we were almost done..."</p><p></p><p>She leans up against the wall as Jake opens the door with the key. "We still have to go back and finish searching. And," she tugs on her hair, "We have to talk."</p><p></p><p>"We are almost done." He says as the door unlocks. He pulls her in and adds, "What? You do not want to see if Edwards has anything we want? He has no family, you want to leave his stuff for this ungrateful little town?" Jake immediately starts searching.</p><p></p><p>While he is searching he starts talking. "I was just thinking that there are not many people running this town anymore. Before we get on the stage this afternoon we might be able to help poor Thom out a bit. Greely might have been a nice guy before... before something happened to him. Since Greely has no family either I bet he was thinking about poor Thom. How would Thom take care of himself after Greely was gone? Turns out Greely put Thom in his will, and the Mayor signed it as witness. After we are done here, I need you to go find a document or two with the Mayors hand writing and signature. I can then use them to help me find Greely's will in those papers, leaving the saloon to Thom." Jake stops and looks up. "I bet we can sell the saloon and put the money in Thom’s bank account. We just need to find someone who will not steal that money to be his guardian." Jake starts back at searching. "And you are right we need to go back to the saloon and finish searching." He stops suddenly and says, "We have to talk?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes," Ruby replies, helping Jake search, "We have to talk." Ruby stops her searching and looks up at Jake. "But you already started. I want to talk about Thom. It's very sweet you know, you wanting to help him. I want to help him too. He has no one to take care of him now, I don't want to leave him here in this crap town alone." Ruby's smile widens as she stares at Jake, her eyes twinkling.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, that..." Jake says with some relief in his voice. "I figured you already decided that. Fine with me if you hire him. I was just trying to get him a little retirement nest egg. As long as I do not have to spend my days explaining everything to him, he can work at the Lady and have a room there. Hopefully Mills will take a shine to him." Jake chuckles, "Like I said before, as long as this stray is house broken it should be no problem. If he starts chewing on my boots, he is out."</p><p></p><p>Ruby giggles, "Oh I miss the puppies so..."</p><p></p><p>The giggling stops and Ruby sets her eyes on Jake. "Do you really think I would make a decision like that without speaking with you first?"</p><p></p><p>"I think you decided that you were going to convince me," Jake replies with a wink. "Just because I agreed so readily does NOT mean I want to skip the convincing part." He tries not to laugh, but cannot hide the large grin as he searches. "Now get back to work, we have much to finish before the stage gets here, and we are NOT missing the stage."</p><p></p><p>"I'm sure there is something back at our house with the Mayor's handwriting on it. After that is done, we can go see Whittaker about not renting his house any longer and possibly buying the Saloon. Then we check is he is one of those monsters. Is that the plan then?"</p><p></p><p>"Mostly. Here, then make a will, finish searching the saloon, Whittaker and then get on a stage. Heh, busy day."</p><p></p><p>"You forgot to include telling me you love me. Shouldn't that be on the top of the list?" Ruby adds with a pout.</p><p></p><p>Jake and Ruby search the room thoroughly. They find several books about the occult and monsters of legend, mostly religious in nature. They find his long full length black robe, a small pocket mirror, several stakes, his peacemaker, 36 silver bullets, a smaller handheld version of his holy symbol, 189.68 in cash, a pair of well worn boots, black leather gloves, a map of the county and surrounding area, and a copy of the telegram sent by Sheriff Wilson requesting his services.</p><p></p><p>Jake sighs inwardly but then chuckles again, "No, that is like breathing. We do not need to put that on the list." Jake drops everything he finds on the bed. "Now love of my life, tell me if any of that is enchanted."</p><p></p><p>While Ruby is concentrating he reads the telegram to see if there is anything of interest in it.</p><p></p><p>Ruby concentrates fully on the objects on the bed. When she finally snaps out of it she says, "The gloves and 12 of the bullets are enchanted. I don't know with what though, we'll have to ask Mr. Gonzales to look at the gloves and Pierre to look at the bullets." She scoops up the money and stuffs it down her now full bodice, taking the bills and leaving the coins. "I can't fit much more in here. If I hadn't lost weight I probably wouldn't be able to fit all this!" She pages through one of the books. "I bet Minerva would like these books. I mean, Mr. Edwards can't use them anymore."</p><p></p><p>Jake lays out the man's robes and holy symbol on the bed, with the boots beside it. "We will hold on to the rest then."</p><p></p><p>They make their way back to the rented house. Jake stows away most of what they brought with them, but leaves the books on the table for Minerva. He knocks on the door and when Minerva answers, he explains what happened with Edwards. "We are going to visit Whittaker a little later if you care to come along."</p><p></p><p>Minerva stirs from her sleep by the muffled sounds of gunfire. She sits up and looks around, remembering where she is and why. She quietly tiptoes out of bed careful not to wake Nanuet. She tucks the blankets carefully around him and begins pulling on her clothes when Jake knocks at the door. She steps out into the hall and closes the door softly behind her. "By the gods! Edwards has fallen to this evil? Will it never end?" she exclaims. </p><p></p><p>"Si, I will be down shortly. Let me gather my things and I will meet you." She steps back into the room and finishes dressing.</p><p></p><p>While Jake speaks with Minerva Ruby searches around the rented house for anything handwritten by the former Mayor. She guesses which room would have been the office and looks specifically for a desk of some sort, or anything that might be holding paper.</p><p></p><p>The house seems to have been cleaned out pretty thoroughly, but she finds a stash of hidden personal letters that do happen to have his signature on them, but they were before he was Mayor, so that title is left off.</p><p></p><p>Ruby hands the letters to Jake. "Here is what you were looking for. I'm going to go back to the Saloon. I'm not sure if you want to stay here or come there. We're running out of time. Actually, while I'm here I should pack."</p><p></p><p>Ruby heads into their bedroom of one night and starts stuffing her strewn about clothing into her bag. "Plus that bastard stole one of my favorite dresses, I want it back, so someone has to go back to the boarding house too."</p><p></p><p>"I need a little time to make it convincing. Maybe you can get one of the others to help you. I know you do not want to go back to the boarding house alone, but if I am going to help Thom I need to get working. Chet could get you in the boarding house without questions."</p><p></p><p>"It's ok Jake, I can go to the Saloon without you. Might even get more done without you distracting me," she laughs. "And I'll talk with Thom too. You get working on that letter and I'll come back here for you in a bit." She kisses him and heads out.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="orchid blossom, post: 2819621, member: 12815"] Chester's jaw drops at the hideous sight. Shaking his head, he regains his composure. "Sheriff! Is there a back door, like through the kitchen. Get everyone out that way." He fishes the holy symbol of Athena that Minerva gave him out from under his shirt and brandishes it toward Edwards. Edwards recoils at the presentation of the symbol at first, then swipes at it violently. He manages to knock the symbol out of Chester's hand onto the floor. Chester winces at the power of the blow. He shakes his hand as he draws his Remington with the other. "Mr. York. Get out of here! Go get the sheriff." York hesitates to move as Edwards is keeping him hemmed in behind the counter. "Sheriff Weeks is already bringing the guests out the back door. Can you kill it? Just kill it!" Kate swallowed against the bile that rose in her throat. "He hasn't harmed anyone yet, Chester. Is this... Did Greely make him into a monster? I don't want to leave you alone, but we might need the others. Will you be alright if I run for Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs?" Hearing no objection from Chester, Kate turned and ran next door to the saloon where Thom was standing in the door. "Thom, I must speak with Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs this instant!" she said, breathless. "Please let me pass." Edwards recoils at the presentation of the symbol at first, then swipes at it violently. He manages to knock the symbol out of Chester's hand onto the floor. Thom shakes his head. "Sorry, I can't let anybody in. They said nobody can come in, let them know if anybody shows up. So you can't come in, I think?" "Then take them a message, can you do that? But it must be done right now. Tell them Katherine says Edwards is at the hotel, not living and not dead. They must come there now. Go, tell them now! I will not come in." Thom listens to what Kate is saying, but he appears to be confused. He tries to repeat what Kate says, but mixes up the words and forgets the other half. "They said I could just let them know if someone was coming. If you promise you will stay here I will go tell them you are here." Thom bounds upstairs yelling for Jake and Ruby. "Someone is here, you said to let you know if someone was here!" "Who is here Thom?" Jake stands and looks out the door of the room with a hand on his Colt. "The other lady who was here when you untied me. I think her name is Kate? She was here with Mr. Edwards the other night. I think she is your friend, but Pretty Constance said not to let anybody in!" Thom appears very flustered and overwhelmed. Jake's hand relaxes and falls from his revolver. "It is alright Thom, you did good." He pats Thom on the arm. "I will go see what she wants." Jake leaves Ruby to the safe contents and walks down the stairs to speak with Katherine. Kate sighed with relief when Jake came down the stairs. "We found Edwards!" she said as soon as he was close enough to hear. "Greely turned him. He's hanging from the ceiling by the front door of the hotel. Chester and the local priest are there now, we need help." "Hermes!" Jake exclaims. He whirls around and grabs his bag off the bar top. "Chet is against a vampire with only that old priest to help him?" Jake does not wait for an answer and he sprints for the door, "Ruby!" Jake screams as he runs out the door, "Chester needs help!" and he is gone. Once outside he quickly loads his sawed-off shotgun with two normal rounds and looks over the situation at the hotel. Jake also looks to see if any of the morning sun could shine through the first floor windows or doors. The front door of the hotel does face the west, so at the moment the sun is not shining directly through the door, but there is sunlight illuminating the outdoors, so it is possible some could come in, even through the doors and windows facing away from it. Also, the sheriff is doing his best at controlling the other guests and staff and getting them out the back door. There are a few screaming townsfolk exiting the back of the hotel as Jake arrives. Kate ran after Jake, but stopped between the hotel and the saloon watching for Ruby. Her spells were out; it was unlikely she could be of much use fighting Edwards. Ruby hears Jake scream and quickly starts running. As she does she stuffs the money and the papers down the front of her bodice. First she sees Thom. "Which way did Jake go Thom?" She waits for him to point and starts running out the door in that direction. "Stay here, please, we don't want you getting hurt!" she calls back to the big man. With that Ruby runs in the direction of the hotel to find Jake. Kate waved to Ruby as she came flying out the door. "It's Edwards, inside the hotel. Greely turned him and I'm out of resources. Just inside the front door." Ruby waves but continues to run past Kate, pulling out her gun and the stake as she does. She runs into the front door and looks for Jake and Chester. Kate stayed in the sunlight just outside the front door, where she could see Edwards and her friends and jump in if she was needed. Chester sees Ruby enter. "Ruby, over here. Edwards is one of them now. He's got the priest trapped." Chester draws his second Remington. He says to the vampire, "Leave him be, Mr. Edwards. You made it your life's work fighting these monsters. Don't let them beat you." The beast that now resides in what was once Mr. Edwards body looks at Chester as he gives his little speech then flings himself down from the wall and swats at Chester. Fortunately for the former soldier the creature mistimes it's jump and the slam never connects. The monster is now on all fours on the floor in front of Chester growling ferally. Victor Bishop takes the chance to bolt out from behind the desk and heads to where the Sheriff Weeks is leading the others out of the hotel to safety. As Chester tries to talk to Edwards, Jake shifts to the right of him slowly moving forward. He is almost as surprised as Deputy Martin when the creature leaps at him just as Ruby arrives in the doorway. "Sorry Edwards," Jake says as he pulls his Colt while taking one last step to the right, "I do not know any other way. Now Chet!" Jake fans his gun at the former priest. "Sorry about this. May your soul be at rest." Chester levels both guns at Edwards and fires. Ruby makes sure she is out of the way of the gunfire but keeps the stake in her hand raised and ready. If for some crazy reason all the bullets don't kill him Ruby stands prepared to stake the vampire through the heart. Kate ducked out of the line of fire, even as she had been getting her own pistol out and waited for the sound to stop. After the barrage of fire the creature that was once Nolan Edwards now lay motionless on the floor. The body fell near the doorway and where the light filtered through the body smoked and bubbled slightly. There was no more life, even in death for Nolan Edwards, former vampire hunter. The gunfire stopped and Kate peeked around the doorframe. She immediately turned away and emptied her stomach. A moment later tears streamed from her eyes. Ruby releases the breath she didn't know she was holding as she leans herself up against the wall. She drops the stake to the floor. "What time is the stage?" Chester kneels before the body and places coins on Edwards' eyes. He whispers, "Hope Charon gives you a smooth ride, Mr. Edwards." He looks at York. "This man deserves a decent burial for all that he's done." York nods. "It'll get done, Deputy. Does he have family?" "Not that I know of. He just had his work." He asks Ruby, "What about Whitaker. Is he mixed up in this?" "I don't know. You went to investigate him last night, right? What did you find out?" "We followed him and Romo out in the country. They met some Mexicans who gave them a wagon. Romo took the wagon northwest and Whitaker came back to town. Luna knows where Romo went." "Did you find out what was in the wagon? And how can Luna know where the wagon went? Is she that smart she can tell Minerva?" Ruby pauses. "Whittaker did sound suspicious, something about a disease that he couldn't go in the sunlight. Otherwise I don't know. Guess you'll have to ask Minerva, Deputy," she smiles. "I guess Luna can talk to Minerva some how. I can't explain it. Anyway, Nanuet snuck up to the wagon and found weapons and ammunition. So they're probably gun-runners. That reminds me, I need to tell the sheriff about that. I forgot in all the excitement." If Whitaker's not one of them, then we should go home." "We should leave today," Kate said from where she was sitting by the door. "Brother York gave us the name of someone in Albuquerque who can help Nanuet. But time is a factor." "Nanuet would not want to leave without knowing for sure if Whittaker was one of them or not. But it seems unlikely that a vampire would need to run guns," Ruby comments thoughtfully. Kate said, "I only saw Whittaker once, but it seems to me if he and Greely had both been these monsters, they'd have been at each other's throats. They both seem to be men who liked to be in charge." "We don't know if they could have been working together, one under the influence of the other. I don't know how to figure that out though short of busting into his home and throwing holy water on him," Ruby says. Kate nodded. "Well, someone has to tell him we'll be vacating his house. A wet handshake would answer the question." "I guess either me or Jake should do that. But he doesn't take care of business himself, he leaves it to his partner. But perhaps his partner hasn't returned yet from whatever scam they have going on." She glances over to Jake, who is pushing the now dead Edwards with the toe of his boot, no doubt to triple check he was really dead dead and not coming back. I just want to get out of here." Ruby calls out, "What do you think Jake, do we have to visit Whittaker before we leave this place?" Jake looks up when Ruby calls, apparently focused on Edwards not moving body. "I think you should step outside for a minute." He bends over and picks up the stake Ruby dropped, walks to his bag and removes the hammer he appropriated from Greely's store room and then stands between the door and the gruesome body on the floor. All Ruby can see before she turns away is the back of Jake's duster and his arm raising the hammer. There is a loud whack followed by the sound of a hammer being dropped on the floor. When Jake joins Ruby outside he has his bag and is adjusting his coat. "I think this investigation is still going on, at least for another couple of hours. I am damn tired of this too, so enough pretense." Jake is scratching his chin apparently lost in thought. A little grin comes to his face but he quickly suppresses it, but not before Ruby sees it. "Chet, we are still lawmen here, we do not need any excuse to question Whittaker to keep this town safe. We have a few things to do first. Maybe you could help the Sheriff calm folks down. I want to check Edwards room to make sure Greely did not leave anything else behind that is a problem. Then I want to examine those papers Ruby found. After that we go see Whittaker and he pours some holy water in his hand to prove he is not a monster, for that matter we can use a mirror to check too. If he refuses, then we drag him out in the street." He turns to Katherine, "Perhaps you can convince the Sheriff to get some men during daylight and go out to the graves of anyone who died recently and dig them up and make sure they are really dead." Jake grabs Ruby's arm, "Come on, let us check Edward's room." He gets the key from Bishop and they head up stairs. As Jake drags her up the stairs Ruby whines, "I thought we were almost done..." She leans up against the wall as Jake opens the door with the key. "We still have to go back and finish searching. And," she tugs on her hair, "We have to talk." "We are almost done." He says as the door unlocks. He pulls her in and adds, "What? You do not want to see if Edwards has anything we want? He has no family, you want to leave his stuff for this ungrateful little town?" Jake immediately starts searching. While he is searching he starts talking. "I was just thinking that there are not many people running this town anymore. Before we get on the stage this afternoon we might be able to help poor Thom out a bit. Greely might have been a nice guy before... before something happened to him. Since Greely has no family either I bet he was thinking about poor Thom. How would Thom take care of himself after Greely was gone? Turns out Greely put Thom in his will, and the Mayor signed it as witness. After we are done here, I need you to go find a document or two with the Mayors hand writing and signature. I can then use them to help me find Greely's will in those papers, leaving the saloon to Thom." Jake stops and looks up. "I bet we can sell the saloon and put the money in Thom’s bank account. We just need to find someone who will not steal that money to be his guardian." Jake starts back at searching. "And you are right we need to go back to the saloon and finish searching." He stops suddenly and says, "We have to talk?" "Yes," Ruby replies, helping Jake search, "We have to talk." Ruby stops her searching and looks up at Jake. "But you already started. I want to talk about Thom. It's very sweet you know, you wanting to help him. I want to help him too. He has no one to take care of him now, I don't want to leave him here in this crap town alone." Ruby's smile widens as she stares at Jake, her eyes twinkling. "Oh, that..." Jake says with some relief in his voice. "I figured you already decided that. Fine with me if you hire him. I was just trying to get him a little retirement nest egg. As long as I do not have to spend my days explaining everything to him, he can work at the Lady and have a room there. Hopefully Mills will take a shine to him." Jake chuckles, "Like I said before, as long as this stray is house broken it should be no problem. If he starts chewing on my boots, he is out." Ruby giggles, "Oh I miss the puppies so..." The giggling stops and Ruby sets her eyes on Jake. "Do you really think I would make a decision like that without speaking with you first?" "I think you decided that you were going to convince me," Jake replies with a wink. "Just because I agreed so readily does NOT mean I want to skip the convincing part." He tries not to laugh, but cannot hide the large grin as he searches. "Now get back to work, we have much to finish before the stage gets here, and we are NOT missing the stage." "I'm sure there is something back at our house with the Mayor's handwriting on it. After that is done, we can go see Whittaker about not renting his house any longer and possibly buying the Saloon. Then we check is he is one of those monsters. Is that the plan then?" "Mostly. Here, then make a will, finish searching the saloon, Whittaker and then get on a stage. Heh, busy day." "You forgot to include telling me you love me. Shouldn't that be on the top of the list?" Ruby adds with a pout. Jake and Ruby search the room thoroughly. They find several books about the occult and monsters of legend, mostly religious in nature. They find his long full length black robe, a small pocket mirror, several stakes, his peacemaker, 36 silver bullets, a smaller handheld version of his holy symbol, 189.68 in cash, a pair of well worn boots, black leather gloves, a map of the county and surrounding area, and a copy of the telegram sent by Sheriff Wilson requesting his services. Jake sighs inwardly but then chuckles again, "No, that is like breathing. We do not need to put that on the list." Jake drops everything he finds on the bed. "Now love of my life, tell me if any of that is enchanted." While Ruby is concentrating he reads the telegram to see if there is anything of interest in it. Ruby concentrates fully on the objects on the bed. When she finally snaps out of it she says, "The gloves and 12 of the bullets are enchanted. I don't know with what though, we'll have to ask Mr. Gonzales to look at the gloves and Pierre to look at the bullets." She scoops up the money and stuffs it down her now full bodice, taking the bills and leaving the coins. "I can't fit much more in here. If I hadn't lost weight I probably wouldn't be able to fit all this!" She pages through one of the books. "I bet Minerva would like these books. I mean, Mr. Edwards can't use them anymore." Jake lays out the man's robes and holy symbol on the bed, with the boots beside it. "We will hold on to the rest then." They make their way back to the rented house. Jake stows away most of what they brought with them, but leaves the books on the table for Minerva. He knocks on the door and when Minerva answers, he explains what happened with Edwards. "We are going to visit Whittaker a little later if you care to come along." Minerva stirs from her sleep by the muffled sounds of gunfire. She sits up and looks around, remembering where she is and why. She quietly tiptoes out of bed careful not to wake Nanuet. She tucks the blankets carefully around him and begins pulling on her clothes when Jake knocks at the door. She steps out into the hall and closes the door softly behind her. "By the gods! Edwards has fallen to this evil? Will it never end?" she exclaims. "Si, I will be down shortly. Let me gather my things and I will meet you." She steps back into the room and finishes dressing. While Jake speaks with Minerva Ruby searches around the rented house for anything handwritten by the former Mayor. She guesses which room would have been the office and looks specifically for a desk of some sort, or anything that might be holding paper. The house seems to have been cleaned out pretty thoroughly, but she finds a stash of hidden personal letters that do happen to have his signature on them, but they were before he was Mayor, so that title is left off. Ruby hands the letters to Jake. "Here is what you were looking for. I'm going to go back to the Saloon. I'm not sure if you want to stay here or come there. We're running out of time. Actually, while I'm here I should pack." Ruby heads into their bedroom of one night and starts stuffing her strewn about clothing into her bag. "Plus that bastard stole one of my favorite dresses, I want it back, so someone has to go back to the boarding house too." "I need a little time to make it convincing. Maybe you can get one of the others to help you. I know you do not want to go back to the boarding house alone, but if I am going to help Thom I need to get working. Chet could get you in the boarding house without questions." "It's ok Jake, I can go to the Saloon without you. Might even get more done without you distracting me," she laughs. "And I'll talk with Thom too. You get working on that letter and I'll come back here for you in a bit." She kisses him and heads out. [/QUOTE]
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"Here There Be Vampires" A Promise City, Arizona Story Hour
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